The Wuliang Longevity Ripe came to settle in the Puerh Junky Lair (PJL) in March of ’23.  That makes it a newcomer to the community of LPTAWA, otherwise known as Languishing Puerh Tea Associates With Ambitions.  Dear Reader, don’t fret.  It has plenty of company.

The WLR doesn’t have a page of its own, but can be found on a page  where it clusters among productions from the same factory, Haixintang.   It falls into the category of heavily fermented ripes with an unapologetic fruit expression, in this case cherry, fermented to be precise, but to characterize it as fruity would overshadow its complexity.

Wuliang is in the Lancang/Simao region, whence cometh GPE and Tulin and a region somehow associated with the Xiaguan TF tea region.  This could be a misnomer derived from assuming that the Tulin founder and XG disciple simply picked up shop and moved across the proverbial street.  In any event, Wuliang productions tend to have quite the personality.  The WLR is no exception, particularly in terms of the roast note that comes through, most evocative of coffee.

WLR has a syrupy quality about it.  It is super smooth and coats the mouth with a thick layer of sweet and smoothness.  There’s no doubt that it would perform quite well in thermos.  It doesn’t have the playful fruitiness of Merlot, nor the wicked bitterness of LME’s ripes.  It’s very well conceived, notes of chocolate, orchid, even a suggestion of cinnamon.  It’s sweet and juicy, but all balanced by a powerful roast presence.

Obviously, people looking for their ripes to approximate coffee will love it. Instagram shots.